Veterans Tax Benefit Debate Sparks Harsh Words In Newington

GOP Accuses Council Dems Of 'Kicking Veterans In The Face'

October 24, 2012|By CHRISTOPHER HOFFMAN, Special to The Courant, The Hartford Courant

NEWINGTON – — Town council members clashed over the veterans property tax benefit again Tuesday as majority Democrats forced through a scaled-backed increase that Republicans condemned as inadequate.

The benefit increase comes two weeks after council Democrats blocked a GOP proposal for a hike twice the size of the one approved Tuesday night.

The council voted 7-0 with one abstention for the measure after a lengthy and bitter debate.

Republican council member Beth DelBuono said she voted for the proposal, even though she felt it was too small, because she would "never vote no for a veterans benefit." John "Jay" Bottalico, the only other GOP council member present, abstained.

Bottalico harshly attacked Democrats, noting the cost of the Republican proposal was only $25,000 more, about an extra $1.50 per household.

"You've got to be kidding me," Bottalico said. "We're dickering over $25,000 in a $101 million budget? I can't believe you people. You should be ashamed of yourselves. You're kicking the veterans in the face."

"It's my opinion – and you're lucky that you're not talking German or Japanese," Bottalico responded.

Democrats rejected the GOP's criticism. The current budget is "bare bones," forcing the council to carefully consider every dollar and balance the needs of veterans with those of the unemployed and elderly, they said.

"I don't think that I or any of us deserve the vehemence of the comments we've heard tonight," Democratic council member Clarke Castelle said. "I really resent it. We're trying to do the right thing."

Woods noted that the council significantly increased the veterans benefit earlier this year and has strengthened it again.

"We've already doubled the number of (eligible) veterans," Woods said. "That's a lot in a short time."

The measure approved Tuesday increased the veterans property tax benefit yearly income limit for couples from less than $39,500 to less than $45,000. The cost to the town is about $25,000 a year, Assessor S. Steven Juda said.

Republicans wanted to extend the benefit to veterans making less than $50,000, which would have doubled the annual cost to $50,000, Juda said.

Veterans who qualify have $10,000 taken off their homes' assessed value. Earlier this year, the council increased that amount from $2,000.

Juda said that the number of eligible veterans would increase from 196 to about 320. Under the GOP proposal, more than 400 residents would have qualified, Juda said.

Democratic council member Terry Borjeson said that his caucus is looking at increasing the elderly property tax exemption, at a cost of $25,000. The proposal annoyed Republicans, who complained the two benefits had not been linked in previous discussions.

Democrats noted that elderly veterans would benefit from increases in both exemptions, and said the town lags farther behind other towns in property tax benefits for the elderly than for veterans.